Sri Vaishnavism The mark here is called the
namam or the s
richaranam. Members of the
Sri Vaishnava tradition wear the tilaka with the two outer lines representing the feet of
Narayana,
Vadakalai The
Vadakalai are among the two denominations of the
Iyengar community of
Tamil Brahmins. The Vadakalai namam is a U-shaped design that incorporates two curved lines upon the forehead. As in the Tenkalai namam, this is representative of the feet of Vishnu. A yellow line that is usually applied with a turmeric paste is worn in its midst as a representation of Lakshmi. In between a vertical black line is made from the daily coal of the dhupa (incense). In this sampradaya, worship is done to Narayana or Krishna daily. The coal left after offering incense is used to mark the black line. This is called as angara. Those who are wearing this line have finished the Devara Puja (worship). Underneath the black line, red dot is added to indicate that one has finished eating their lunch. This dot is called as akshate. It is the ash of the banana tree flower petal mixed with turmeric paste. The shape of angara-akshate is like that of a gada. It is supposed to be Pranadeva Sannidhi (have the presence of Vayu Devaru). Those who did not perform daily worship to Narayana wear the simple two line tilaka only.
Gaudiya Vaishnavism In the
Gaudiya Vaishnava sampradaya, the tilaka is usually made out of mud from
Vrindavan. The main tilaka is basically identical to the
Madhva tilaka. Below the two lines, on the bridge of the nose is the shape of a
tulsi leaf, while other Vaishnava groups may instead feature the shape of the
neem or
asoka leaf. The slight difference arose due to the emphasis on direct devotional service such as hearing from the shastras and glorifying the Lord in accordance with Srimad-Bhagavatam. As such, the black line made from the ash of the fire sacrifice is not included. As per Sri Hari Bhakti Vilasa (4.211), the tilaka is a U that begins from the beginning of the nose which is technically 1/3rd the distance from the base to the tip. In due course of time, this original tilaka was modified to suit various divisions and sects.
Nimbarka sampradaya and
Chakra In
Nimbarka Sampradaya, the tilaka is made of
Gopi-Chandana (the clay from Gopi Kunda lake in
Dwarka,
Gujarat), as described in the
Vasudeva Upanishad. It starts at the bridge of the nose and continues as two vertical lines to the top of the forehead. This is said to represent the temple of God. Within these lines, between the eyebrows is a black dot, made from the slate found in
Barsana,
Uttar Pradesh, the sacred birthplace of
Radha. This is said to represent God as Radha and Krishna together. This tilaka personifies the tenets of the Sampradaya, that God is Radha and Krishna together, none else. It is supposed to have been first given to Nimbarka at the time of his initiation by the sage,
Narada. The tilaka is first given to an initiate by their
guru at the time of
initiation, and after this, daily the devotee will remember his guru before he adorns the tilaka on his head.
Swaminarayan Sampradaya In the
Swaminarayan Sampradaya, the urdhva pundra tilaka, also known as the tilaka chandlo, is composed of two elements: a U-shaped tilaka made of sandalwood paste and a chandlo (circle) made of
kumkuma (vermillion) in the center. It is applied before the morning puja. According to the Swaminarayan Gadis, the symbol represents Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth and fortune, living in the heart of Swaminarayan wherein the tilaka represents the lotus feet of Krishna, the supreme being, and the chandlo stands for
Lakshmi. The BAPS interpret the tilaka chandlo to indicate the bhakta-bhagavan mode of worshipping Paramatma along with his ideal devotee, the Gunatit Sadhu. Swaminarayan proclaimed that all devotees should wear the mark on 13 February 1821 during the
Holi festival in Panchala, near Junagadh, Gujarat, after demonstrating the tilaka chandlo on
Gunatitanand Swami. ==See also==